Hi everyone!
For my gaming needs, I have a Steam Deck and a Playstation 5 for now. They’ll probably be joined by a Steam Machine in the next year if the price is under 1000$ with 2 controllers.
For my admin needs, I have a few Linux computers running Fedora.
For my movie needs, I have an HTPC running LibreELEC.
Whenever possible, I’ll get my games on GOG from now on.
A lot of games aren’t on GOG though, so I have to choose between getting physical discs for my PS5 or through Steam.
For now, I can’t get demanding games on Steam since the Deck isn’t powerful enough, but with the arrival of the Machine, I’ll almost have power parity with the PS5.
I don’t plan on selling the PS5 as my son plays some Roblox, the NBA app works better on it than on my TV and I could want some games that Sony won’t release (anymore) on PC.
One day, once my switch to Linux gaming is over I might even give it to my son when hés gonna be old enough to game in his room.
So my question is should I buy physical games on Playstation, with the ability to resell them and get them on GOG one day for cheap, or should I get the games on Steam where they could just be taken away if Steam becomes evil?
Edit/conclusion:
In the end, if I get a Steam Machine, it’ll probably be:
- GOG when available
- Steam
- Playstation physical for their exclusives
Without the Steam Machine, it’ll be the same but I’ll have to take into account that some games are too demanding for the Deck, so it’ll be PS5 physical.
I’d say GOG --> Steam. Physical media isn’t real anymore. Most PS5 games download an entirely new set of binaries at initial launch and refuse to run unless they have been updated. So the disc is mostly useless.
OP said the point of the disc is the ability to resell it
That is factually wrong. Most games are entirely on the disk, albeit in version 1.0 ; you can check on DoesItPlay, they usually have the info.
Even if this is the case physical used is going to be the cheapest.
As always “it depends”. Especially with frequent and deep sales it highly depends on the title. But given that it has to exist on both platforms for this to even be an option to begin with, it might be true more often than not.
This might also be an additional consideration, that selling titles is an option for physical PS5 titles. Assuming the discs can always be sold and copies aren’t tied to your digital account anyway once you play them.
Yeah PS5 physical discs, even if only holding data to download the game, have the advantage of giving you the ability to resell a game if you don’t enjoy it.
Not true, many PS5 videogames are on discs and playable offline in the initial release.
Just get them on Steam and then if the day ever comes that Valve yanks them away from you it’ll be morally acceptable to pirate everything you’ve already bought.
This is the way. I buy games primarily to support game developers, not because I don’t know how to pirate. GoG is generally preferred when possible, but I buy games on Steam primarily because of convenience and the other services they provide, not because I blindly trust those games will always be accessible, and I think for the services they provide they do deserve their cut, so I’m supporting them as well. I do also happen to trust them, and I believe those games will be available to me for the foreseeable future and if I didn’t, my buying strategy would shift quite promptly, but I’m not blindly trusting that, it’s a calculated risk.
I absolutely do know how to pirate games. This is not my first rodeo. But it’s mildly inconvenient, especially for updates and sometimes multiplayer, and I trust that process even less than I trust Steam. If Steam were to take my games away that I’ve already paid for (and supported) you’d better believe most of them are going into the download queue. Some I might choose to support again on a different platform, some have certainly earned it. But I know what I’m doing, and I’m doing it with intention. I decide who deserves my money and who doesn’t, and so far, Steam has earned what they get from me.
Some games on Steam are actually run without DRM; so if you find that out for some set of them, you can likely back them up as files.
Steam client is DRM
Not always. Some Steam games are entirely DRM-free and can be run without Steam.
Can you download them without Steam client?
Steam Machine in the next year if the price is under 1000$ with 2 controllers.
Zero chance.
Confirmed.
2 controllers but no RAM, maybe…
$999 with no RAM, no storage, and 1 controller voucher (redeemable when stock becomes available again).
Lol
Not sure I would commit to GOG that much. They’ve shown some transphobic and Nazi colors often enough.
This. I’ll never understand how a person can hold simultaneously the values of freedom and of seeking to punish or exclude the Other. Promoting DRM-free games feels like a freedom-respecting move. Same with the undercurrent of xenophobia/homophobia/transphobia that exists within some FOSS spaces. It’s utterly confusing.
Yeah but buying on GOG also means not being tied to them if they turn evil since you can just copy the game and use whatever launcher.
They’re kinda shitty in general. Asking for donations like they’re a non-profit and rejecting indie games for the sake of “curation” while their store is flooded with porn games
Pretty much all steam games that don’t have secondary DRM can be made to be steamless with tools like the Goldberg emulator (Disclaimer this project is meant for games you own and have permission to replace steam on, it’s not a piracy tool, but you can use it to archive installed games). PS5 games are two decades out, at minimum, to be emulated.
Thanks to collectors and scalpers, the secondary games market is pretty much nonexistent for modern consoles. So reselling isn’t going to get you enough to buy anything really.
I’ve been buying games on Steam since 2003. I still can play them all.
The only thing better than Steam is no DRM (GOG). Everything else doesn’t exist for me.
a lot of steam games dont have DRM (those that dont use steam features like multiplayer). You can buy a game, move it out of the folder to test if it runs, and if not, refund it
i know at least one game that offers an offline version on itch.io that is DRM free
PS5 physical and sell if you are on the fence or only play on playing them once
GoG if there’s an option
Steam otherwise?
I am a long time PC/PS5 player and what’s pretty much put me off of PlayStation permanent are two things:
- PlayStation implemented online license checks every 30 days. So year from now when they shut off the PS5 back end states like they have with PS3, your games will no longer be playable.
- Sony intends to lock multiplayer features behind third party facial recognition software globally in the somewhat near future.
There is no need to be so strict so just mix it up and do it all.
Yeah but I’m kind of psychorigid and I like to establish guidelines😅
None of us can predict the future, so we don’t know which games will end up on GOG one day, but your plan seems solid enough based on what we know now and what you value.
I was like you, and I ended up choosing Steam, mainly because I can play the game on the Steam Deck that way.
If a game I own ever gets delisted on Steam : first off, it’s unusual for Steam to remove it from your library ; secondly, I would just pirate a copy if that were ever to happen.
Any game for which that strategy fails, would also never have a physical release on PlayStation anyway.
Also, Steam sales (or key resellers) are cheaper than second hand disks ; and I never sold any of my physical games anyway (though I might now that I re-bought them on Steam 😂)
Piracy.
PS5 retail should be priority, when only digital Steam is a superior service also for linux support.
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Well if GOG becomes evil, I’ll have all my games stored locally and I can do what I want with them.
While it’s true there is no GOG Galaxy for Linux, I think they sponsor Heroic and it works quite well on Steam Deck to be honest.
I might get pirated games if my Steam Library gets taken away since, contrary to PS5 or GOG, I wouldn’t be able to do anything with my games.
In the end, if I get a Steam Machine, it’ll probably be:
- GOG when available
- Steam
- Playstation for their exclusives
Without the Steam Machine, it’ll be the same but I’ll have to take into account that some games are too demanding for the Deck, so it’ll be PS5 physical.
